What Is Microlearning and How Is It Changing the Way Employees Are Trained?

The Network of Corporate Academies (NOCA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) report 40 percent of employees who receive poor training leave the job within a year. Considering how expensive employee turnover is to any organization, offering sufficient training is a must. To help address this issue, microlearning courses are gaining momentum and changing the way employees are trained.

What Is Microlearning?

Microlearning enhances comprehension of lengthy training courses with one- to three-minute objectives that can be reviewed as needed. Each objective is a key point from a course, which employees can use for a refresher on their training. This puts learners in control of the information they review to better complete tasks.

“Microlearning is support for the skill set developed through a course,” said LearnSmart Director of Content Ammon Wiese. “They help a training become muscle memory by increasing one’s ability to pull learned concepts from the mind.”

What Are the Benefits of Microlearning?

The benefits of microlearning are how it helps learners consume information. Recalling an individual skill while out in the field often means the difference between a job incident and performing effectively. In this case, time is of the essence. Available through an app, learners have the microlearning performance support they need at their fingertips. This delivery of information means lessons are easier to access at a moment’s notice.

Microlearning’s accessible and bite-sized lessons lead to higher retention, fewer mistakes on the job, and lower long-term costs of training. Rather than relying solely on memory, professionals can refer to their training and will be more likely to recall information.

The microlearning courses are useful across a variety of industries that benefit from having information on demand. Micro courses can serve as performance support for new employees or a review for those looking to brush up on procedures.

When working with complex information or tools, retention of instructions can be difficult, no matter how extensive the training. Microlearning courses are not intended to replace accredited courses, they are performance support to reduce incidents on the job and ensure standards are being communicated.